Tag: mass shootings

OpenAI sued over ChatGPT’s alleged role in guiding FSU shooter

OpenAI is being sued by the family of a victim killed in the April 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University that left two people dead. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI’s ChatGPT enabled the attack.

Vandana Joshi, the widow of Tiru Chabba, who was killed alongside the university dining director Robert Morales, filed the federal lawsuit against OpenAI in Florida on Sunday.

The complaint also names Phoenix Ikner, the man accused in the shooting, as a defendant, citing his “extensive conversations” with ChatGPT. The suit says that OpenAI failed to effectively detect a threat in ChatGPT’s conversations with Ikner, claiming the chatbot “either defectively failed to connect the dots or else was never properly designed to recognize the threat.”

According to the complaint, Ikner, then a student at FSU, shared with ChatGPT images of firearms he had acquired. The chatbot then allegedly explained how to use them, “telling him the Glock had no safety, that it was meant to be fired ‘quick to use under stress’ and advising him to keep his finger off the trigger until he was ready to shoot.”

The suit said Ikner began his attack at FSU by following the instructions.

At one point, the lawsuit alleges, ChatGPT said that it’s much more likely for a shooting to gain national attention “if children are involved, even 2-3 victims can draw more attention.” Later, on the day of the shooting, the lawsuit says, Ikner asked about what “the legal process, sentencing, and incarceration outlook” would be.

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Families of ‘transgender’ school shooting victims sue OpenAI, say it ‘facilitated’ massacre

The families of the victims of a brutal school shooting at the hands of a suspected “transgender”-identifying male killer in a remote Canadian town are suing OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, in a California court.

In total, several lawsuits were filed in a San Francisco courthouse on April 29, with over $1 billion in damages being sought, according to lawyers.

The lawsuit is related to one of Canada’s deadliest school shootings. As reported by LifeSiteNews, the Canadian shooter suspect, identified as 18-year-old male Jesse Van Rootselaar, went on a rampage on February 10, killing eight, mostly children, and wounding no less than 27 people.

Van Rootselaar, who later killed himself, dressed as a female. It is the second-worst school shooting in Canadian history. Many of the victims are still on life support.

The lawsuits allege negligence, wrongful death, and product liability and directly accuse OpenAI and its leaders of aiding and abetting the shooting.

Altman is a homosexual who is “married” to another man, procured a baby boy through surrogacy, and has expressed radical transhumanist views, and ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI, is known for left-wing bias.

The lawsuits say that OpenAI did not flag disturbing content posted by the shooter online. They allege that the company was silent about contacting the police about the shooter because it would have shown just how prevalent violent dialogue is on ChatGPT.

OpenAI is soon looking to go public, and doing so is expected to make over $1 trillion for the company. This lawsuit could impact this. 

One of the wrongful death plaintiffs is the father of Abel Mwansa Jr., who was a Grade 7 student killed. 

The lawsuit has also been filed on behalf of 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who is recovering from shots to the head and has been left with serious brain injuries.

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Trans substitute teacher, 19, allegedly plotted chilling ‘murder spree’ at a Virginia school

A Virginia transgender substitute teacher was arrested for allegedly plotting a chilling “murder spree” at a local school — and bragging online about having a disturbing hit list.

Hadyn Dollery, 19, was busted on school grounds Monday after posting threatening messages on Discord targeting John Champe High School in Stone Ridge, about 40 miles west of Washington, DC, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and multiple outlets.

Police said a tip on the department’s Safe2Talk app exposed the suspect’s sinister online posts.

The accused would-be attacker allegedly unleashed threats against family and friends on the messaging app, including disturbing talks of a mass killing at the school, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Loudon Times-Mirror.

The warped teen, of Chantilly, also claimed to have a “kill list,’ the complaint said.

Dollery worked as a “non-licensed” substitute teacher for the 2025-26 school year but was later scrubbed from the district’s list after being thrown behind bars, the outlet reported.

The long-haired suspect, seen grinning in their mugshot, was charged with threats of bodily harm and is now being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, cops said.

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Florida AG Launches Landmark Criminal Investigation into ChatGPT and OpenAI for ‘Offering Significant Advice’ to Alleged FSU School Shooter, ‘If It Was a Person, We’d Charge Them with Murder’

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that the state has opened a full criminal investigation into OpenAI and its popular chatbot ChatGPT over allegations it provided “significant advice” to the man accused of carrying out the deadly 2025 Florida State University shooting.

The investigation centers on Phoenix Ikner, the 21-year-old charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the April 2025 attack on FSU’s campus in Tallahassee.

Ikner allegedly opened fire near the student union, killing two people, Robert Morales and Tiru Chabba, and injuring six others.

According to investigators and court documents, Ikner engaged in more than 200 messages with ChatGPT in the hours and days leading up to the massacre.

The conversations reportedly included detailed questions about school shootings, the busiest times on campus, operational details on firearms and ammunition, and strategies for maximizing media attention.

Uthmeier did not mince words when announcing the criminal investigation:

“My prosecutors have looked at this, and they’ve told me if it was a person on the other end of the screen, we would be charging them with murder.”

“This criminal investigation will determine whether OpenAI bears criminal responsibility for ChatGPT’s actions in the shooting at Florida State University last year,” he added.

Uthmeier explained that Florida law treats anyone who aids, abets, or counsels the commission of a crime as a principal to that crime, equally responsible as the actual perpetrator.

Attorneys for the family of victim Robert Morales first raised the alarm in early April, revealing they had evidence of “constant communication” between Ikner and ChatGPT right up to the shooting.

In a statement, the lawyers said they have “reason to believe that ChatGPT may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes.”

The family plans to file a civil lawsuit against ChatGPT and OpenAI’s ownership structure “very soon” to hold them accountable for Morales’ death, according to a report from WCTV.

Uthmeier has previously highlighted ChatGPT’s links to child sexual abuse material, encouragement of self-harm, and other criminal uses.

“We support innovation, but that doesn’t give any company the right to endanger our children, facilitate criminal activity, empower America’s enemies or threaten our national security,” Uthmeier stated.

OpenAI has stated it will cooperate with the investigation.

The company has not yet issued a detailed public response specifically addressing the FSU chats, but it has previously maintained that its safety guardrails are designed to prevent harmful outputs.

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Ukraine police chief resigns after officers allegedly fled deadly shooting

The head of Ukraine’s patrol police, Yevhen Zhukov, has resigned after two of his officers faced criticism for allegedly fleeing a deadly mass shooting in the capital, Kyiv.

Six people died and 14 others were injured on Saturday after a man opened fire on people in the street in Kyiv’s southern Holosiivskyi district before taking others hostage in a nearby supermarket. He was later killed in a shoot-out with police.

Footage has since been shared online appearing to show officers leaving civilians and running away from the scene.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said the officers in question had been suspended and that an investigation into their actions was under way.

“‘Serve and protect’ is not just a slogan. It must be supported by appropriate professional actions. Especially at critical moments, when people’s lives depend on it,” he wrote on Telegram.

However, Klymenko cautioned: “It is not entirely correct to make generalisations about the entire police only by the actions of two employees.”

Zhukov told a news conference on Sunday that the officers had “failed to assess the situation properly and left civilians in danger”. He also said they acted “unprofessionally and unworthily”.

“As a combat officer, I have decided to submit my resignation from the position I currently hold,” Zhukov said.

The Ukrainian authorities say they are treating Saturday’ shooting as a terrorist act but have not yet spoken about a motive. Klymenko described the man’s mental state as “clearly unstable”.

Eight people remain in hospital, of whom one adult was in an “extremely serious condition” and three were in a serious condition, officials said.

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Over 160 Arrests in Turkish Crackdown on People Praising School Shootings Online

Turkish police are on the move.

Turkey is still reeling over two school shootings in two days, but the authorities are enacting a crackdown on people allegedly praising or spreading fake news online about the shootings.

On Tuesday (14), a former student opened fire at a high school in the southeastern district of Siverek, injuring 16 people, and just a day later, nine people died in a second school shooting in the southern province of Kahramanmaras.

France24 reported:

“Turkish authorities have detained more than 160 people on charges ranging from spreading misleading information to praising two deadly school shootings this week online, the justice minister said Thursday.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said 95 people had been taken into custody and 35 more suspects were being sought. Access to 1,104 social media accounts had been blocked, he added in a post on X.”

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SCARY: Maryland Elementary School Vandalized with Graffiti Glorifying Sandy Hook Shooter

Parents, students, and the community in Montgomery County, Maryland, have been left rattled after graffiti honoring the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooter, Adam Lanza, was discovered on Bradley Hills Elementary School over the weekend.

The graffiti, which read “RIP Adam Lanza,” was found painted on a fence at the elementary school on Saturday.

In 2012, Lanza shocked and saddened the world when he carried out the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, murdering 20 first-grade children and six adults before taking his own life.

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) immediately notified families in a letter sent to the Bradley Hills Elementary community.

MCPS Chief of Schools Dr. Peter O. Moran wrote:

“Today, graffiti was discovered on a fence at Bradley Hills Elementary School that included the name of the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. To be clear, the use of the name of an individual responsible for such a heinous act, one that involved the loss of life of young school children, can only be interpreted as an act intended to intimidate and cause fear within the Bradley Hills School community, and the broader neighborhood and community, too.”

Dr. Moran added that the “despicable act” would be met with a “substantial and uniform response” from MCPS and the Montgomery County Police Department.

School staff documented the graffiti, and a building services team removed it before the end of Saturday evening.

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ChatGPT Helped Transgender Teen Plan School Shooting: 8 Dead

An 18-year-old transgender teenager in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, is alleged to have used AI model ChatGPT in the run-up to a February 10 school shooting that killed eight people, including her mother, her 11-year-old brother, five students and an education assistant, before she took her own life. OpenAI had already flagged and banned one of Jesse Van Rootselaar’s accounts months earlier for “misuses of our models in furtherance of violent activities,” yet did not alert police. According to a civil claim filed in British Columbia, roughly a dozen employees identified the chats as signalling imminent risk, leadership refused to contact law enforcement, but the shooter later opened a second account and continued planning.  

What Happened in Tumbler Ridge?

The massacre began at home. Police said Van Rootselaar killed her mother and sibling before going to a school in Tumbler Ridge, where an educator and five students were shot dead. Two others were hospitalised with serious injuries. Reuters described it as one of Canada’s worst mass killings. Police also said they had previously removed guns from the home and were aware of the teenager’s mental health history. 

That would already be a story of institutional failure. But the AI angle makes it worse. OpenAI later admitted it had banned Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account in June 2025 after detecting violent misuse. The company said it considered referring the case to law enforcement, but decided the activity did not meet its threshold because it could not identify “credible or imminent planning.” Months later, eight people were dead. 

OpenAI then told Canadian officials that, under its newer and “enhanced” law-enforcement referral protocol, the same initial account ban would now be referred to police. That is an extraordinary concession. It amounts to an admission that the safeguard in place at the time was inadequate to the risk in front of it. 

The Lawsuit Against OpenAI / ChatGPT

The most serious details now sit inside a civil claim brought by the family of a surviving victim. The filing alleges that Van Rootselaar, then 17, spent days describing gun-violence scenarios to ChatGPT in late spring or early summer 2025. It says the platform’s monitoring system flagged those conversations, routed them to human moderators, and that approximately 12 OpenAI employees identified them as indicating an imminent risk of serious harm and recommended that Canadian law enforcement be informed. The claim alleges leadership refused that request and merely banned the first account. 

The same filing alleges the shooter later opened a second OpenAI account, used it to continue planning a mass-casualty event, and received “mental health counselling and pseudo-therapy” from ChatGPT. It further alleges the chatbot equipped the shooter with information on methods, weapons, and precedents from other mass casualty events. These are allegations, not proven findings, but if they are even broadly accurate, the case is not simply about a product being misused. It is about a company building an intimate, persuasive machine that could flag danger, simulate empathy, and still fail to stop the person it had already flagged. 

The filing also accuses GPT-4o of being deliberately designed in a more human, warmer, more sycophantic style that could foster psychological dependency and reinforce users rather than redirect them. These claims fit a wider concern now being raised by researchers, families, and even some people inside the industry: a chatbot that is rewarded for being agreeable can become dangerous precisely when a human being most needs resistance. 

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ISIS Supporter Released Early During Biden Years Linked to ROTC Killing

A fatal shooting inside a Reserve Officer Training Corps classroom at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has drawn renewed attention to the earlier sentencing of the suspect, who had previously been convicted of providing material support to the Islamic State, as reported by Fox News.

Authorities say Mohamed Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Sierra Leone, carried out the attack Thursday after entering a classroom and confirming it was an ROTC class before opening fire.

A fatal shooting inside a Reserve Officer Training Corps classroom at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has drawn renewed attention to the earlier sentencing of the suspect, who had previously been convicted of providing material support to the Islamic State, as reported by Fox News.

Authorities say Mohamed Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Sierra Leone, carried out the attack Thursday after entering a classroom and confirming it was an ROTC class before opening fire

According to investigators, the gunfire killed Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. Officials said ROTC cadets in the classroom confronted the suspect and physically subdued him.

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Biden DOJ Refused to Prosecute Man Who Later Sold Gun to Old Dominion Shooter

Kenya Chapman, the man accused of selling a gun to the Old Dominion University shooter, was arrested in 2021 for straw purchase violations but the Biden DOJ declined to prosecute him.

According to FOX News’ Bill Melugin, “The man charged by DOJ for selling the gun used by the ODU terrorist was caught straw purchasing three guns in 2021 (all of which were later recovered at crime scenes, including a homicide) but the Biden DOJ declined to prosecute.”

The three guns were a Glock 17 9mm, a Taurus 9mm, and a Springfield Armory XD9.

On Thursday of this week, 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former National Guardsman convicted in 2017 of working with ISIS, opened fire on ROTC students at Old Dominion University using a Glock 44 chambered in .22 long rifle. On Friday the Trump DOJ arrested and charged Chapman for supplying the Glock to Jalloh.

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